Apr. 16, 2014
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One of three space suits in NASA's Z-2 spacesuit design vote. / NASA

by Shannon Rae Green, USATODAY

by Shannon Rae Green, USATODAY

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this report and accompanying video misnamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

Today before midnight is the last chance to vote for NASA's newest prototype: a spacesuit design that will eventually go to Mars.

In 2012, NASA released the Z-1, which looks strikingly similar to Buzz Lightyear's get-up. Dan Huot, at the NASA Johnson Space Center, says he's heard people compare these new designs to films like Prometheus and Tron.

The suits won't go to Mars in the 2030s, but they are the beginning of a development process. Huot shared that one of the coolest new pieces of tech in the suits is called the suit port. The spacesuits will be attached to the outside of the spacecraft, and then astronauts will step into the suit using a back hatch, eliminating the need to depressurize, and keeping dangerous dust on the outside of the spacecraft.

"You don't drag any Martian dust into the rover," said Huot, "and you cut down prep time significantly. It's one of the biggest technologies of the future."